Once a tiny hamlet inhabited by Harijan weavers, Bhujodi exuded the symphony of the loom that had internalised both Kabiriyat and Gandhiness, their rhythm and rigour of austerity. I was meeting the master weaver Vashram (Vishram) Vankar (weaver) in his Bhujodi house-cum-workshop-cum sales depot that has a sprawling verandah with a cow-shed and a loom, nearly half a century after I first met him. Stoutly resisting the lure of showing off, Vashram and his family have still retained the Gandhian simplicity with compassion. The 80-year-old Vashram reads newspapers without specs, uses no hearing aids, wears the home-spun coarse cotton clothes, dons a deshi Gandhi cap and keeps chanting Gandhi Bapu! Gandhi Bapu! He even reminded me that the date of our meeting was Vinoba Bhave’s 130th birth anniversary. Vashram Vankar of Bhujodi (near Bhuj, Kutch) is an epitome of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat today.
In Gujarat, to my mind, Gandhi lives institutionally and instinctually. Gujarat has always offered a strange mix of responses to Gandhi. You’d need to feel them down to earth. Gandhi never ever returned to Gujarat after November 2, 1936, but still he smiles his toothless smile here.
It is, perhaps, the prevailing Jaina ethos (non-violence, vegetarianism, asceticism, aparigraha or non-possessiveness, business ethics and munificence) that has been contributing to the presence of Gandhi and Gandhiness across Gujarat and despite many heinous communal incidents. I felt the institutional and instinctual presence of Gandhi at two ashram-like hands down (Buniyadi) artisans’ training schools called Hunnarshala and Karigarshala near Bhuj. These unique spaces, quietly, compose symphonies of spontaneity and diversity through the practice of creating crafts. The young school-drop out boys and girls rejuvenate themselves here through creativity.
In South Gujarat, wherever you walk, you would be walking upon Gandhiji’s footprints through the still-extant ashram-like institutions and historic places. In 2019, I had the idea of going around the city of Surat, what I called panj tirath (five Gandhian places of pilgrimage), within a couple of hours’ radius. These five places include Bardoli (Swaraj Ashram set up in 1928 during the Bardoli Satyagraha), Haripura (venue of the Indian National Congress’s 51st session held under the presidentship of Subhash Chandra Bose in 1938; Mahatma Gandhi had invited Nandalal Bose from Santiniketan to decorate pandals), Dharasana (the non-violent satyagraha here was a direct follow-up to the Dandi salt march), Vedchhi Ashram (established in 1930 to promote tribal education and social upliftment), and Dandi, well-known for the Salt march or the Salt satyagraha led by the Mahatma in 1930. These five Gandhian places are still extant and active.
{{/usCountry}}In South Gujarat, wherever you walk, you would be walking upon Gandhiji’s footprints through the still-extant ashram-like institutions and historic places. In 2019, I had the idea of going around the city of Surat, what I called panj tirath (five Gandhian places of pilgrimage), within a couple of hours’ radius. These five places include Bardoli (Swaraj Ashram set up in 1928 during the Bardoli Satyagraha), Haripura (venue of the Indian National Congress’s 51st session held under the presidentship of Subhash Chandra Bose in 1938; Mahatma Gandhi had invited Nandalal Bose from Santiniketan to decorate pandals), Dharasana (the non-violent satyagraha here was a direct follow-up to the Dandi salt march), Vedchhi Ashram (established in 1930 to promote tribal education and social upliftment), and Dandi, well-known for the Salt march or the Salt satyagraha led by the Mahatma in 1930. These five Gandhian places are still extant and active.
{{/usCountry}}Come to the east-central part of Gujarat and you are struck by the presence of the co-operative movement reflecting the Gandhian influence of management and decentralisation. The prime example of which is the Kheda District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul) launched in 1946 by scattered milk producers against the monopoly of private firms. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation is the umbrella organisation for this model transforming India into the world’s largest milk producer. On the western side, in Rajkot, we find the Rashtriya Shala (established in 1921), a site for the practice of spinning and weaving khadi. Gandhi studied at Rajkot’s Alfred High School, which turned into the Mahatma Gandhi High School; it now houses the Mahatma Gandhi Museum. Porbandar, the birth place of both (Kasturba) Ba and Bapu, has their memorials which are visited by many souls.
The political centre of Gujarat, Ahmedabad still retains visible Gandhian footprints in its various ashrams and institutions. Established in 1915, the Kochrab Ashram is still extant. On the west coast is the town of Adipur in Kutch, the only place in India having a samadhi of Gandhi other than Rajghat in Delhi.
In August-September 2025, when Kutch observed the centenary of Gandhi’s first (and last) visit there in 1925, the difference between pre-colonial feudal Kutch and now was visible. A 100 years ago, the feudal royalty was not favourably poised towards him mainly because he was mingling with the “untouchables”. Everywhere, Gandhiji had to face the segregation between the people higher in caste hierarchy and lower. This time, many young students joined the Gandhi padyatra (foot march) to honour the occasion. Twelve-year-old Priyanshi from the Vallabhpur Ashram Shala from the Vagad region was the youngest padyatri, walking alongside 70-year-old Ramesh Barot in a prabhatpheri (morning rounds). I witnessed it in my tiny village of Chhasara. In short, Gandhi still lives on — including in Gujarat. He matters to Gujarat as much as to the globe today.
Amrit Gangar is a Mumbai-based author, historian and curator. The views expressed are personal